Starbucks Wants to Talk About Race

That’s what coffee chain Starbucks is asking this week, as baristas at 12,000 Starbucks coffeehouses nationwide will try to get their customers talking about one of the most uncomfortable subjects to get any American to confront — race.

It’s all part of an effort Starbucks is launching, in conjunction with USA Today, called “Race Together.” They’ll be writing those words on your Starbucks cups and a “Race Together” newspaper supplement will be available at Starbucks and in printed copies of USA Today.

“Race Together” was born out of an internal meeting Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz held after he and staffers were moved by the discussion around race in light of nationwide protests over the deaths of unarmed Black men by police officers.

Schultz believes starting to talk about it is the first step to doing something about racism in America.

“Racial diversity is the story of America, our triumphs as well as our faults,” says the opening letter to the eight-page supplement and conversation guide, signed by Schultz and Larry Kramer, president and publisher of USA TODAY. “Yet racial inequality is not a topic we readily discuss. It’s time to start.”

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